Oscar-Nominated Actress Sally Kirkland, Star Of Anna, Dies At 84

Oscar-nominated actress Sally Kirkland, best known for her breakthrough performance in the 1987 independent film Anna, has died at the age of 84. Her passing was confirmed by her representative early Tuesday morning (Pacific Standard Time) in Palm Springs, California, according to Variety.

Kirkland had been placed on hospice care last week following a fall in October that left her with injuries to her ribs and foot, according to her GoFundMe page. She had also been battling a bone infection that spread to her bloodstream, as well as dementia.

Over a six-decade career, Kirkland appeared in more than 250 film and television projects, earning recognition not only for her cinematic work but also for recurring television roles in series such as Felicity,

Roseanne, Valley of the Dolls, and Days of Our Lives.

Her performance in Anna, where she portrayed a seasoned Czech actress mentoring a young actress played by Paulina Porizkova, earned her widespread critical acclaim. Kirkland’s grassroots campaign for recognition in the pre-social media era led to a Golden Globe win, a Los Angeles Film Critics Award, and an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. She recounted the unconventional methods she used to promote herself, including writing letters to film critics and reaching out to Andy Warhol, who hosted a talk show at the time. Critic Rex Reed famously described her performance: “Sally Kirkland devours Anna like a raw steak and emerges a major star.”

Reflecting on the experience of attending the Oscars, Kirkland told Huffington Post in 2012, “At the Oscars, there were all these movie stars emerging from their limos, and then there was me. I felt like Cinderella. The greatest part was the feeling to be in the same Oscar category of these women that I was a huge fan of — Meryl, Glenn, Holly Hunter and Cher, who I used to rollerskate with in the ’70s.”

Born on October 31, 1941, in New York City, Kirkland was the daughter of Sally Kirkland, a fashion editor for Life and Vogue. She began her career as a model for Vogue before training at the Actors Studio under Lee Strasberg and Uta Hagen, and later graduating from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1961. She was also involved in New York’s avant-garde theatre scene in the 1960s and was briefly part of Andy Warhol’s The Factory.

Beyond Anna, Kirkland’s notable film credits include Cold Feet (1989), Best of the Best (1989), JFK (1991), Bruce Almighty (2003), and the horror film The Haunted (1991), for which she received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film.